Wild Belle: Reggae-Tinged Romance Amid The Big Bikes

Wild Belle performs for a Field Recordings video at South Bay Customs in El Segundo, Calif.

Mito Habe-Evans
/ NPR

Originally published on March 10, 2016 12:09 pm

At first, the inconspicuous facade of the El Segundo-based South Bay Customs motorcycle shop doesn't seem like the most compelling setting for one of our Field Recordings. But once we walked past the front doors, we quickly realized that this wasn't your everyday L.A. bike shop. South Bay's walls are lined with eccentric oddities, and the facility also houses an art gallery and a performance space for local musicians.

So it was fitting that Wild Belle singer Natalie Bergman seemed a bit confused upon the band's arrival. In an coincidental twist, she told us that she'd be embarking on a motorcycle ride across the Midwest with a close friend in the next month. Bergman and her brother/bandmate Elliot happily inspected the bikes on the maintenance floor, as they told stories of their recent Coachella appearance while carefully navigating the frames and engine parts strewn around the active shop floor.

In this spirit, we decided to shoot Wild Belle performing "Love Like This," the band's breezy summertime ode to new-found romance. The song's reggae-tinged vibe evokes images of sunny, leisurely rides down California's famed Pacific Coast Highway, preferably on the back of a souped-up custom motorcycle.